JM Smucker to close Hostess plant in Indianapolis

Dive Brief:

• J.M. Smucker plans to close and pursue a sale of a Hostess manufacturing plant in Indianapolis by early 2026 as part of a plan to consolidate its sweets production footprint.
• The plant currently has 259 employees, according to a Smucker spokesperson. Hostess reopened the Indianapolis facility in 2013, and Smucker inherited the plant as part of its $5.6 billion purchase of the treats maker two years ago.
• Smucker said it will provide additional information about the decision to close the plant when it releases its fourth-quarter results on June 10.

Dive Insight:

As companies look to lower expenses, many food manufacturers have shuttered facilities in a bid to streamline their supply chains.

Cost-cutting has taken on added importance as businesses deal with a slowdown in consumer spending due to inflation and economic uncertainty, lowering demand for many of their products. PepsiCo, Conagra Brands, Post Holdings and Brown-Forman are among the firms that have announced plant closures this year.

Smucker didn’t provide information on why it was closing the Indianapolis site, but the plant is nearly 70 years old. In many cases, it’s too costly to retrofit an old facility with modern technology. 

“This decision continues the ongoing work to ensure our manufacturing network is optimized to mitigate costs and reduce complexity,” Judd Freitag, senior vice president and general manager for pet and sweet baked snacks, said in a statement. Freitag added that Smucker is “focused on stabilizing the Hostess business and positioning it for long-term growth.”